Creation Care is a Christian Responsibility (Why every Christian should be a naturalist, #8)

Early in the 20th century the sandy hills of Northumberland County in Ontario where I live had been left barren and eroding through cutting down all the timber. A vigorous program of reforestation re-clothed the hills with forests. Now the Ganaraska and the Northumberland Forests have not only stopped erosion and provided an enormous water and carbon dioxide sink but a marvelous place to explore, hike and picnic. Not only people but animals and birds love it.

The eighth reason why every Christian should be a biblical naturalist is because God has given us responsibility to care for his creation. Way back in Genesis two we read, “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” (Genesis 2:19). God has made us stewards of his creation that we might care for it. Too often businessmen think only in terms of exploiting the earth. Even Christians sometime limit their concern to spiritual matters or family responsibilities and ignore our responsibility to nature around us.

Jack Miner, a fervent Christian, was the father of conservation in Canada. His bird-banding program enabled him to solve many mysteries of migration. The foundation he began is credited with establishing 200 bird sanctuaries in North America. Noting his use of words like pollution and conservation years before they became popular, the London Times commented that he lived 50 years ahead of his time. (1865-1944)

Jack Miner wrote of his life in the poetry of Psalm 23;,

The Lord is my Guide and Teacher,

I will not get lost:

He makes my heart a receiving station for His wireless:

He sits down beside me in the pathless woods

and opens up his book of knowledge:

He turns the leaves very slowly that my dimmed eyes

 may read His meaning.

He makes the trees I plant to grow,

and flowers to arch my path with their fragrant beauty;

gives me dominion over the fowls of the air

and they honk and sing their way to and from my home.

Yea, He has brought me up from a barefooted

 underprivileged boy to a man respected by

millions of people, and I give Him all

the credit and praise whenever, wherever, and forever.

From Jack Miner: Father of Conservation, undated paper printed by The Trustees of the Jack MinerFoundation [i]

It was no accident that Jack Miner was both a Christian and a conservationist. We should all be committed to the conservation and care of our world and its creatures. God has called us to use the plentiful resources he has placed around us but he will judge us if we rape our world and destroy the balance he created.

(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: http://www.countrywindow.ca Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ––)

__ATA.cmd.push(function() { __ATA.initDynamicSlot({ id: 'atatags-26942-60ec2761c0b1d', location: 120, formFactor: '001', label: { text: 'Advertisements', }, creative: { reportAd: { text: 'Report this ad', }, privacySettings: { text: 'Privacy', } } }); });